Pronunciation: lih-vih-STONE-uh DREW-dee-eye
Common Name: Halifax Fan Palm
Livistona drudei is an excellent fan palm choice for many areas of California, from dense forests to open desert landscapes (with sufficient water). It is a somewhat 'typical' looking Australian ribbon fan palm with a lot of nice coloration in their petioles.
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Appearance and Biology
- Habit: solitary with a crown of 25-50 fan leaves
- Height: 50'
- Trunk: single; 8" in diameter (up to 12" at the base)
- Crownshaft: none
- Spread: 15'
- Leaf Description: costapalmate; blades about 4' wide; leaves divided to about half their length; leaflets relatively thin; distal 1/3 of leaflets acutely droop for the typical 'ribbon fan palm' effect; olive to medium green; 8' long
- Petiole/Leaf bases: arching; 5'-6' long; heavily armed with straight, very sharp, black teeth; yellow-orangish in color with dark brown near leaf bases (new petioles are more bright green)
- Reproduction: monoecious though 'functionally dioecious'
- Inflorescence: 3' long; arching; from within leaves; branched distal half
- Fruit: spherical to oblong; 1/3" long; purple black when ripe; groove encircles about half the fruit circumference; scattered pores
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Horticultural Characteristics
- Minimum Temp: 25F
- Drought Tolerance: moderate
- Dry Heat Tolerance: good
- Cool Tolerance: good
- Wind Tolerance: good
- Salt Tolerance: unknown
- Growth Rate: moderate to fast with age
- Soil Preference: adaptable
- Light Requirement: filtered light to full sun
- Human Hazards: very sharp petiolar teeth
- Disease or Horticultural Problems: none
- Transplants?: unknown
- Indoor?: unknown
- Availability: rare to very rare at times
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